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Liver Tissue Engineering

Our mission is to harness liver cells for therapeutic use. We aim to help treat patients who have severe / acute liver failure. Knowing that the liver can repair itself in time, our focus is to "buy" that time by developing a combined cell therapy and medical device (bioartificial liver machine) for patients with liver failure.

The medical research charity aims to improve the treatment of Liver Disease through research.

MyAV范 has been working with Renfrew Group on a workstation for a highly innovative cryopreservable BioArtificial Liver Machine to treat patients with liver failure.

Our work聽

We aim to translate basic science to clinical use. With respect to the current focus we undertake research and development in the following areas.

Research leading to a cell therapy

Our themes include:

  • Developing cell spheroids / organoids to optimise per cell performance of liver cell lines that can deliver liver function when a patient's own liver cannot.
  • Producing聽a "biomass"聽at clinical scale that provide 30-70% of hepatocytes found in a typical adult human liver.
  • Developing cryopreservation techniques so that the cell therapy is available whenever a patient needs it.
  • Testing the therapy in clinical scale models using a biomass suitable for patient treatment.
  • Amassing the data required to present to regulators so that a new therapy will meet regulatory requirements.

Research and development of a medical device

  • Development of a device that both delivers the therapy and adds additional function.
    • Develop software for a graphical user interface that enables monitoring of all elements of the device, eg flow rates, temperature, pressure, dissolved oxygen levels.
    • Develop hardware that is suitable for use at the patient bedside in an ICU or High-Dependency Liver unit.
  • Design and manufacture of all patient-facing elements as sterile disposables.
    • Biomass Chamber: this has involved physical and mathematical modelling of the chamber to house the cell organoids
    • Giving set: a triple circuit tubing set connects all the elements of the device together and enables it to link to apheresis machines that, in turn, connects to a patient.
  • Produce data suitable for a technical file for the device and investigational Medicinal Product Dossier (IMPD) that meets the relevant ISO standards required for use in patients.
  • Undertake "usability"聽studies according to IEC standards, to ensure the operator interface is suitable in terms of human鈥揷omputer interaction. Produce instructions for use聽of the device, and standard operating procedures of the processes.

The Liver Group

Clare Selden


Professor of Experimental Hepatology

Barry Fuller


Professor in Surgical Sciences

Brian Hogan


Lead clinician in liver critical care

Eloy Erro

Tom Brookshaw

Mr Thomas Brookshaw
Research Technician

Rosa French

Miss Rosa French
Laboratory Technician Apprentice

Wendy Spearman

Prof. Wendy Spearman
Collaborator,聽University of Cape Town

Jeremy Opie


颁辞濒濒补产辞谤补迟辞谤,听鲍颁尝滨颁

Helen Cooksley

Dr Helen Cooksley
Collaborator, Translational Research

Selected publications

  1. Selden C, Fuller B听(2018). . Bioengineering (Basel). 2018 Apr 24;5(2):32.

  2. Gonzalez-Molina J, Zhang X, Borghesan M听...听Fuller B, Gavara N, Selden C (2018). . Biomaterials. 2018 Sep;177:113-124.

  3. Gonzalez-Molina J, Mendon莽a da Silva J, Fuller B, Selden C (2019). . Sci Rep. 2019 Jun 11;9(1):8505.

  4. Awan M, Erro E, Forster-Brown E, Brookshaw T, Chandel S, Chalmers SA, Watt A, Fuller B, Selden C (2022).听. Cryobiology. 2022 Jun;106:79-83.

  5. Mendon莽a da Silva J, Stamatis C, Chalmers SA, Erro E, Selden C, Farid SS (2021). . Cytotherapy. 2021 Aug;23(8):683-693.

  6. Kilbride P, Morris GJ, Milne S, Fuller B, Skepper J, Selden C (2014). . Cryobiology. 2014 Dec;69(3):367-75.

  7. Mendon莽a da Silva J, Erro E, Awan M, Chalmers SA, Fuller B, Selden C (2020).听. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2020 Aug 20;8:895.

  8. Selden C, Bundy J, Erro E, Puschmann E, Miller M, Kahn D, Hodgson H, Fuller B, et al.聽(2017). . Sci Rep. 2017 Nov 6;7(1):14518.

  9. Massie I, Selden C, Hodgson H, Fuller B, Gibbons S, Morris GJ (2014).聽. Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 2014 Sep;20(9):693-702.

  10. Massie I, Selden C, Hodgson H, Fuller B (2011).听. Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 2011 Jul;17(7):765-74.

  1. Coward SM, Legallais C, David B ... Selden C (2009). . Artif Organs. 2009 Dec;33(12):1117-26.

  2. Damelin LH, Coward S, Kirwan M, Collins P, Selden C, Hodgson HJ (2007). . J Cell Biochem. 2007 Jun 1;101(3):723-34.

  3. Ramasamy TS, Yu JS, Selden C et al聽(2013). . Tissue Eng Part A. 2013 Feb;19(3-4):360-7.

  4. Ross J, Gherardi E, Mallorqui-Fernandez N听...听Selden C, Hodgson H (2012). . Gastroenterology. 2012 Apr;142(4):897-906.

  5. Selden C, Spearman CW, Kahn D, Miller M, Figaji A, Erro E, Bundy J, Massie I, Chalmers SA听...听Fuller B, Hodgson H (2013). . PLoS One. 2013 Dec 18;8(12):e82312.

  6. Coward SM, Selden C, Mantalaris A, Hodgson HJ (2005). . Artif Organs. 2005 Feb;29(2):152-8.

  7. Erro E, Bundy J, Massie I, Chalmers SA ... Fuller B, Hodgson H, Selden C (2013). . Biores Open Access. 2013 Feb;2(1):1-11.

  8. Rahman TM, Selden C, Khalil M, Diakanov I, Hodgson HJ (2004). . Artif Organs. 2004 May;28(5):476-82.

  9. McCloskey P, Tootle R, Selden C, Larsen F, Roberts E, Hodgson HJ (2002). . Artif Organs. 2002 Apr;26(4):340-8.

  10. Three patent families: (i) Multi-functional chamber for housing a biological component 9402944; (ii) Improvements in or relating to growing cells EP2376627A1 (iii) Bio-artificial Liver (Filed 2023: )

Funding and partnerships

  • National Institute for Health and Care Research
  • The Liver Group Charity
  • Wellcome Trust
  • Innovate UK / Technology Strategy Board
  • Medical Research Council

NIHR Logo

Liver Group Charity logo (open hepatica flower)

Wellcome Trust logo

Logo for UKRI Innovate UK (navy / pink)

The logo for the URKI Medical Research Council. A quadrilateral, with 'UKRI' over navy on the left, and two teal portions on the right.

Related programmes

Our members contribute to the iBSc, BSc and master's degrees within the Division of Medicine. We lecture on iBSc courses for medical students. We provide BSc and MSc/MRes research project supervision from within and outside聽the division. We also have an established track-record in providing high-quality training to PhD students interested in basic, translational, and clinical research in the areas of liver cell biology.

Interested in joining us?

Researchers: We welcome prospective applications from talented postdoctoral candidates seeking to obtain their own funding. To discuss potential opportunities, please contact Prof. Clare Selden (c.selden@ucl.ac.uk). Please include the following documents and information:

  • CV
  • Short description of the research questions you would like to address (no more than half an A4 page)
  • Funding scheme(s) you would like to apply for and deadline(s) for submission.

Students: If you have a good academic record, are interested in a career in biological science or academic medicine and would like to discuss opportunities in ILDH, please contact the Principal Investigator or Senior Research Associate whose research area most interests you.

Contact details

Address

Division of Medicine, Institute for Liver and Digestive Health 聽
MyAV范 Medical School
Upper 3rd Floor Royal Free Hospital
LONDON
NW3 2QG